Some studies have shown that in high doses, resveratrol extended the life span of fruit flies and worms and prevented early death in mice fed a high-fat diet.

In this study, mice were given relatively low doses compared to the earlier research, and still experienced important aging-related benefits, the researchers said.

The researchers began giving the resveratrol diet to the mice when they were 14 months old -- their middle age -- and followed the animals until they were about 30 months old. The researchers then conducted tests on cardiac function and on gene activity related to aging.

"Resveratrol at low doses can retard some aspects of the aging process, including heart aging, and it may do so by mimicking some of the effects of caloric restriction, which is known to retard aging in several tissues and extend life span," added Prolla, whose study was published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

Using a method that permits simultaneous analysis of thousands of genes at the same time, the researchers found a huge overlap in the genes whose activity were changed by resveratrol and caloric restriction.

They looked at the heart, brain and muscles, and said that the effect of resveratrol was strongest in the heart but did prevent some aging-related changes in the other tissues.

Just because mice had these benefits does not mean people also would, although Prolla said, "I think there's a high likelihood that our findings are applicable to humans."

He said he expected to see a lot of studies in the coming years on the effects of resveratrol supplementation in people.

Some funding for the study came from DSM Nutritional Products, a company based in Basel, Switzerland that produces a resveratrol product called Resvida.

Madison, Wisconsin-based LifeGen Technologies, a genomics company that Prolla helped found, took part in the research.